Foldable door sealing arrangement



March 26, 1963 B. w. MERRILL FOLDABLE DOOR SEALING ARRANGEMENT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 13, 1960 March 26, 1963 g B. w. MERRILL 3,082,817 FOLDABLE DOOR SEALING ARRANGEMENT Filed July 13, 1960 v 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 v INVENTOR. (\j & B6IZIZ6ZZ' WMer/ZZA:

March 26, 1963 B. w. MERRILL FOLDABLE DOOR sumac ARRANGEMENT 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 -1 qwfikliili l. 4 ab Filed July 13, 1960 United States Patent 3 082 817 FOLDABLE DOOR S EAI JING ARRANGEMENT Bennett W. Merrill, New Castle, Ind., assignor to New Castle Products, Inc., New Castle, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Filed July 13, 1960, Ser. No. 42,538 1 Claim. (Cl. 16040) The invention relates to an end post sealing arrangement for door structures. More specifically, the invention is directed to a foldable door sealing arrangement for use in sealing the engaging surfaces of post-like members one of which may be a lead post of a foldable door and the other of which may be an end post of an adjacent foldable door section or a jam-b post, the sealing arrangement being particularly adapted for use with accordion-type door structures which are constructed to provide highly efficient sound insulation and incorporate therein a door interior venting arrangement.

The general practice in providing for folding door lead post sealing involves the use of a compressible gasket strip which is mounted along the outer sealing face of the lead post to be compressibly received in a vertically recessed jamb post or the like. Foldable door structures are not normally rigidly mounted in a vertical sense to an extent that vertical or longitudinal sway of the lead post is completely eliminated. In the operative mounting of a folding door structure, it is often the case that the structure is supported solely along the top thereof by a series of longitudinally spaced rollers or blocks slidably mounted in an overhead track. Even if a floor track is used in addition to the overhead track, it is generally necessary to build in some operational play for the lead post to permit relatively easy operation thereof during door opening and closing. .It has been found that the user of the door must normally take special care to establish complete sealing gasket seating in the jamb post recess or the like if the doorway area is to be completely sealed off by the door structure. This problem is substantially increased if any vertical variation exists between a jamb post mounted on a wall surface and a lead post which is suspended in a true vertical plane from the overhead track. During installation of existing forms of door structures, special care is not always exercised to make sure that the jarnb post is properly shimmed to position the same in a true vertical plane.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved foldable door sealing arrangement which is capable of providing an eflicient, vertically continuous lead post seal without requiring use of unusual sealing pressures and special door operational precautions on the part of the door operator.

A further object is to provide a new and improved foldable door sealing arrangement which inherently makes allowance for variation in vertical plane mounting of a jam-b post and the like while providing an efiicient seal between the jamb post and a lead post of the door structure.

Another object is to provide a new and improved foldable door sealing arrangement of economical, lightweight construction which is capable of long-life efficient use and which provides maximum protection against sealing gasket damage.

Still a further object is to provide a new and improved foldable door sealing arrangement having the advantages set forth in the foregoing objects and which additionally readily accommodates air release arrangements provided in door structures which are specially designed for highly efiicient sound insulation.

Other objects not specifically set forth. will become apparent from the following detailed description of the 3,082,817. Patented Mar. 26, 1963 present invention made in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of a special sound insulated folding door structure including therein the new and improved sealing arrangement of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevation of the door structure including the sealing arrangement of FIG. 1, this View having portions thereof progressively broken away to illustrate the basic structural features of the door;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective of adjacent end posts of folding door sections illustrating the sealing arrangement of the present invention 'with regard to its utilization on separate movable door sections and further illustrating its accommodation of an air release arrangement specially adapted for use in sound insulated doors; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section in plan view of the sealing arrangement of the present invention illustrating the same in closed operative engagement.

. The foldable door sealing arrangement of the present invention basically involves the use of a sealing strip of resilient compressible material which is of fairly substantial area and volume, this strip being protectively mounted on the sealing surface of a vertical post-like ice 'member with an engaging vertical post-like member being provided with substantially rigid, projecting rib-like means which becomes embedded in the sealing strip to define a vertically continuous seal, the rib-like means not damag ing the sealing strip. This form of sealing arrangement is adapted for use with any type of sliding or foldable door structure although it will be understood that the sealing arrangement is particularly adapted for use with the general type of foldable door structure described above and has special utility in sound insulated door structures of the type disclosed in my earlier Patent 2,903,055 in conjunction with air release means forming a part thereof.

7 FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a sound insulated folding door structure of the type disclosed in my aforementioned patent. Thisd-oor structure, generally designated by'the numeral 10, includes a plurality of horizontally extending and vertically spaced hinge assemblies 11 which are in in the form lazytongs and provide a framework which is foldably contractable and expansible in the known manner. Each of the hinge assemblies 11 includes a plurality of pivotally interconnected hinge plates 12 arranged and held in criss-crossing relation at the center points thereof by short pintles or pins 13. Adjacent free ends of the hinge plates 12 are pivotally interconnected by long pintles or rods 14 which extend the full vertical height of the door structure 10 and interconnect each hinge asesmbly 11 for cooperative action with one another in accordance with conventional framework design of folding doors. The structure 10 further includes a lead post 15 and an end post (not shown) attached to the ends of the hinge assembly framework. The lead post 15 is in the form of a rectangularly shaped hollow post which along the rear face thereof is suitably pivotally connected to the hinge assemblies 11 by half hinge plates 16. The opposite ends of the hinge assemblies 11 are similarly attached to an end post (not shown) which may be of any suitable design and which, if desired, may be of the same structure as the lead post 15.

To limit the extent of expansion of each of the hinge assemblies 11, chain sections 17 are suitably connected with the short pintles 13. Each chain section 17 is of a predetermined length to control the extent to which the door section 10 can be expanded by limiting the short pintles 13 against excessive movement away from one another. The door structure 10 is supported from an overhead track in a known mannerby trolley assemblies 18 shown in broken lines in FIG. 1. The specific details of mounting the door structure are not illustrated as it is to be understood that any known type of mounting arrangernent may be used for the purposes of the present invention.

With regard to the sound insulating structure forming a part of the door structure 10, the details of the various components are fully disclosed and described in my aforementioned patent. Generally, a sound liner comprising a series of vertically continous panels hingedly interconnected by a continuous sheet of flexible hinge material is mounted on the outer surfaces of the hinge plates 12 of each hinge assembly 11. Suitable fastening elements 21 extend through each panel and adjacent hinge plate to support the sound liners 20 in the structure.

Flexible cover members 22 of known type are attached to the outer surfaces of the sound liners 20 by means of the fastener elements 21 which also extend through tapes 23v suitably sewn to each cover member. The sound insulation features are completed by the provision of flexible sweep strips 24 (FIG. 2) which are suitably sewn to each cover member 22 along the top and bottom inner face marginal portions thereof and which project up wardly and downwardly therefrom for doorway area enclosing engagement with a ceiling or floor surface. The sweep strips 24 are mounted along both sides of the door structure 10 along the top and bottom margins thereof and in this respect the interior of the door structure 10 is completely enclosed. In order to prevent excessive ballooning of the door structure or sluggish operation thereof; suitable air release means form a part of the door structure and will be subsequently described.

The foldable door sealing arrangement of the present invention is illustrated generally in FIGS. 1 and 2 and specifically in FIGS. 3 and 4. Basically, the arrangement includes a pair of channel-shaped strips 26 and 27 designed for mounting on a wall surface or post of the foldable door structure. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate the use of the strip 27 as a jamb post with this strip being suitably mounted on a wall surface 28, the strip 26 being suitably mounted on the transverse end face of the lead post 15. FIGS} and"4 illustrate the strip 27 as being'suitably mounted on a post 30 of another 'foldable door section which may be stationary or movable toward and away from the lead post 15 also shown in these views. In other words, the strips26 and 27 may be mounted for cooperative functioning on any' suitable vertical surface whether stationary or movable. Similarly, these strips may be interchangeably mounted other than shown in the accompanying drawings. Referring particularly to FIG. 4, the strips 26 and 27 in the form illustrated are generally H-shaped. Each strip includes a' transverse base wall portion 31 having outwardly projecting side walls 32 formed integrally there- 7 with along opposite side margins. The strip 26 includes rearwardly projecting leg-like ribs 33 formed integrally with the base wall portion 31 thereof andbeing generally coplanar with the side walls 32. The side walls and ribs are vertically continuous throughout the strip 26 and the strip may be suitably mounted to the lead post 15 by any type of fastening means such as screws 34.

The strip 27 is substantially wider than the strip 26 and is provided with rearwardly projecting leg-like ribs 35 which are located inwardly of the projecting side walls 32 thereof for abutment with the transverse end face of the post 30. The strip 27 is also suitably mounted to the post 30 by any adequate fastening means such as screws 36. A sealing or gasket strip 37 which is of substantial thickness and width is received within the outwardly opening channel portion of the strip 27 against the base wall portion 31 thereof and between the proje cting side walls 32. The sealing strip 37 is preferably formed from a resinous foam-type material such as a polyurethane. A coating of pressure sensitive adhesive (not shown) applied to the rear faceof the sealing strip 37 may be used in aiding retention of the strip in the channel strip 27. Preferably, and in conjunction with the adhesive coating, the strip 37 is held in the channel strip 27 by radially inwardly enlarged rib-like portions 38 formed integrally with the side walls 32. The ribs 38 overextend the outer surface of the sealing strip 37 and efficiently retain the same in operative position against the back wall portion 31.

The side wall portions 32 of the strip 27 are preferably extended well beyond the outer surface of the sealing strip 37. Extension portions 40 are provided to substantially overlap the side surfaces of the channel strip 26 when the strips are in engagement as shown in FIG. 4. The channel strip 27 being of substantially greater width than the channel strip 26 provides for substantial surface area availability of the sealing strip 37. The projecting side walls 32 of the channel strip 26 are readily received between the side wall extensions. 40 of the channel strip 27 for eflicient embedding engagement with the sealing strip 37. As previously described, the movable end posts of a folding door structure are not normally rigidly held in a vertical plane. These posts may have rather substantial play. Furthermore, a wall surface may not lie in a true vertical plane and during installation the channel strip 27 may similarly not be mounted in a true vertical plane. The design of the strip 27 however readily accommodates these discrepancies and the strip 26 is readily and efficiently received between the side wall extensions 40 into efficient embedding engagement with the sealing strip 37 to completely seal the arrangement throughout its vertical length. The side wall extensions 40 may preferably be divergently formed as shown in FIG. 4 to provide any guiding action needed during engagement of the channel strip 26 with the sealing strip 37. Furthermore. these extensions provide for further protection of the sealing strip 37 against damage, this feature constituting an important aspect of the invention. With regard to the matter of sealing strip protection, the embedding ends of the wall portions 32 of the channel strip 26 are well rounded and smooth for non-damaging engagement with the sealing strip 37.

The channel strips 26 and 27 may be readily extruded from lightweight material such as aluminum. The sealing arrangement described provides for maximum sealing efficiency within practical door structure closing pressure operation. Any discrepancies in channel strip mounting which might interfere with efficient, full vertical length sealing upon door closing are overcome by the thickness and softness of the sealing strip 37 without the necessity of utilizing special care or excessive pressure during door closing operation. The sealing strip due to its protective seating exhibits high durability and is provided with maximum protection against damage. shown in FIG. 2 will be provided with a handle member 4 1 for door operation, this portion of the lead post also housing a suitable latch mechanism (not shown) for latching operation with a strike plate (not shown) mounted through the channel-shaped member 27. The nature of the sealing strip 37 permits ease in latch opera tion as the sealing strip is readily compressible without the use of excessive force to bring about latch engagement with the strike plate. 7

As mentioned above and as disclosed in my aforementioned patent, it is important to provide air release means for a sound insulated door of the type disclosed. Prefe'rably, air release means should include a series of vents which extend through the transverse end face of each The lead post 15 as With this arrangement the vent.

of the posts and 30. The channel strip-s 26 and 27 are also provided with aligned apertures and the sealing strip 37 is similarly apertured. Thus air may be released from the interior of the foldable door structure or sections during stacking thereof and yet the venting apertures are located to be completely sealed off when the door structure or sections are fully extended in their closed positions. Complete sealing is provided by the embedding of the ends of the side wall portions 32 of the channel strip 26 in the sealing strip 3 7, the apertures 42 being located centrally between the side Wall portions and centrally of the sealing strip.

Obviously certain modifications and variations of the invention as hereinbefore set forth may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and therefore only such limitations should be imposed as are indicated in the appended claim.

I claim:

A foldable door sealing arrangement comprising in combination a pair of elongated substantially H-shaped channel strips for juxtaposed attachment to mating doo-r posts and adjacent doorway surfaces throughout the entire operative length of said posts and surfaces for mutual soundproof sealing engagement therebetween, a first channel strip including a transverse base Wall portion with outwardly projecting generally parallel side walls integrally formed along opposite side margins, rearwardly projecting parallel leg-like ribs formed integrally with said base Wall portion along the rear face thereof and located radially inwardly relative to the projecting side Walls, a resinous foam-type sealing strip of substantial thickness and width seated against said base wall portion between the projecting side walls in recessed position inwardly of the outermost edges of said side walls, said side walls including radially inwardly projecting rib-like portions overextending opposite outer face edge portions of said sealing strip to aid in retaining the same against said base wall portion, said side walls including outer extension portions which are divergent from points beyond the outer face of said sealing strip, and a second substantially H-shaped channel strip of a configuration at least substantially similar to that of said first strip but of less over-all Width than said first strip and with the projecting side Walls thereof extending in generally parallel re lation and being laterally spaced to be telescopically received between the side walls of said first channel strip, the free edges of the side walls of said second channel strip being rounded for non-damaging embedding in said sealing strip, at least said first channel strip including said sealing strip therein being provided with at least one set of aligned air release apertures extending therethrough with the aperture of said first channel strip extending through the base wall portion thereof, said apertures being of limited transverse dimensions to be confined between the side Walls of said second channel strip to be sealed off upon mutual sealing engagement between said channel strips.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,101,465 Beers Dec. 7, 1937 2,325,263 McMillan July 27, 1943 2,895,182 Evans July 21, 1959 2,903,055 Merrill Sept. 8, 1959 2,912,727 Sehn Nov. 17, 1959 2,915,115 Reynolds Dec. 1, 1959 2,919,478 Sehn et al. Jan. 5, 1960 2,933,784 Hooverson Apr. 26, 1960 

